But on Tuesday, Obama summoned Boehner, Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to a Friday meeting at the White House. It’s the same day that the sequester will take effect, though, so it’s not going to stop the cuts from happening.

The across-the-board spending cuts — known as the sequester — that Obama said wouldn’t happen and Boehner had promised his members he and Senate leadership would work to sidestep — in fact, will take hold.

Instead of inching closer together in these closing days, the sides are moving farther apart. Obama went to Newport News, Va., Tuesday and called for slashing tax loopholes to offset the cuts. Boehner gave a speech to the Credit Union National Association and said, “Yes, we should close loopholes, but we should do it as part of tax reform that lowers rates and helps create jobs.”

The Senate will try to pass a bill to increase taxes on high-income earners this week. If it gets past the Senate and the likely 60-vote threshold, it still won’t pass the House. Boehner said his chamber shouldn’t have to pass its sequester replacement bill again before the Senate “gets off their ass” and passes a bill.

The real problem: Neither bill would pass the other chamber.

And get this: The House will leave town on Friday — just as the cuts take hold.

Here’s the rub: Republicans really have no idea what to think. They’re tangled in a mix of messaging about Obama crafting the sequester, the cuts being damaging but also seeking praise for having the courage to finally slash spending by at least 2 percent.

Boehner and his team think they’re in a good position: Obama is calling for tax increases to blunt damaging cuts to the Pentagon, while Boehner is standing for cutting spending.

The same week in which bipartisanship seems so out of reach, Boehner is voicing support for the heftiest two-party undertaking: tax reform. He even designated the leadership’s most prized bill title — H.R. 1 — to rewriting the Tax Code.

“Dave Camp, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, is continuing a thoughtful and thorough review of the Tax Code with an eye on tax reform, and I fully support his work,” Boehner said at the CUNA convention, according to prepared remarks. “It’s time we shift the balance of power from the tax collector to the taxpayer.”